“My firm recently announced that they’re planning to make a number of people redundant in my team, and it’s been made known that they’d like people to come forward voluntarily.

“Until now I hadn’t been looking to leave, but this has confirmed my suspicions that the firm is not doing fantastically well and I am now seriously considering taking the payout and leaving.

“However, I am concerned that a voluntary redundancy on my CV will make future employers think twice about hiring me, in that it could look like I wasn’t committed. I’ve also not been at the firm for a particularly long time and I would rather not have a ‘bitty’ CV with a number of short-term roles. Any advice would be appreciated…”

Have you ever found yourself in this position? If you have then head to legalweek.com for advice on voluntary redundancy and the effects it may or may not have.

Bookmark It

There are few more rewarding and lucrative career choices available to graduates in the UK than becoming a solicitor. Although the prestige, remuneration and social standing of solicitors can seem very appealing, the role is by no means the only option available to those who intend to enter the legal profession or study law in college or at university.

Solicitors
A considerable amount of effort is required to become a solicitor in the UK, where the standard route to qualification lasts five years or longer. Though often rewarded with handsome salaries, solicitors are required to work long hours for many years. The main problem associated with becoming a solicitor in the UK, however, is that there are too many law students for too few positions. The simple truth is that the vast majority of people who study law at university with the intention of becoming a solicitor will struggle to find a suitable training contract with a respected law firm.

Cost
University tuition fees increased in 2011, making it even more difficult for students to justify spending up to five years in full-time education without a reasonably good prospect of securing a training contract on (ideally before) graduation. School and college leavers who decide to study law at university will, however, learn many transferable skills that can be used outside the legal profession. Law graduates are generally considered to possess strong reasoning, research and communication skills. They are also capable of analysing complex issues under pressure from multiple points of view. Studying law and not becoming a solicitor, therefore, should not be considered a waste of time.

Non-Legal Career Options
Aside from careers requiring specific qualifications (medicine, engineering, etc.), few positions would fail to welcome law graduates, many of whom choose to apply for roles in the Civil Service. Some graduates might also consider joining the police service, while others enter private business. Mediation is becoming an increasingly popular alternative career choice for law graduates, whose ability to reason, communicate and negotiate very often prove invaluable. Politics, land planning and the financial-services sector also readily recruit graduates with a background in law.

Legal Career Options
The obvious first alternative to becoming a solicitor is qualifying as a barrister. However, the barriers to entry in this profession are notoriously high. Barristers do not interact with members of the public directly, but instead accept briefs from clients (usually solicitors) for representation in court. Only barristers and solicitor advocates are allowed to represent their clients in the higher courts, so the role of a barrister is one that requires strong advocacy skills (that is, swaying the opinion of judge or jury).

Training to become a barrister is arguably every bit as arduous a task as training to become a solicitor. Trainees must first complete the academic stage of training by studying undergraduate-level law or any other undergraduate subject followed by a specially designed conversion course. Barristers are expected to achieve an upper second-class honours degree (although a 2:2 is the minimum requirement). Graduates must then complete the vocational Bar Professional Course (BPTC) followed by a one-year pupillage in an approved barristers’ chambers or authorised pupillage training organisation (PTO). The final step involves obtaining tenancy in a barristers’ chambers or being employed by an approved practice.

Law graduates or school leavers who have yet to decide on a specific career path might also consider becoming a legal executive or paralegal. Most employers will require paralegals to pass the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Common Professional Examination (CPE), while legal executives tend to train vocationally. The Institute of Legal Executives provides training for legal executives and other non-solicitors, including legal apprentices.

While graduates consider their options, they would be well-advised to keep a foot in the door by applying to become a researcher with the Law Commission or a court usher with Her Majesty’s Court Service. Even these temporary career choices can lead to new, unexpected opportunities.

Picture: Ralph Daily

Bookmark It

Top China law firm Zhong Lun has opened a brand new office in London.

Lawyers have been recruited from similarly-named breakaway firm Zhonglun W&D, reports The Asian Lawyer.

Three partners – Xue Haibin, Li Lin Na, and Emily Wang – are making the move to Zhong Lun along with four associates and two administrative staff.

Robert Lewis, senior of counsel at Zhong Lun in Beijing, claims the 600-strong firm is hoping to use its London office to reach European companies doing business in China.

It also plans to expand its referal network.

“London has a concentration of many excellent law firms and we believe that establishing a relatively modest presence there will help us expand our relationship with potential clients and especially with local law firms in the region,” said Lewis.

Though the three London partners are dual-qualified in the UK and China, Lewis says the firm will not practice UK law. “We have no intention of it being a full-service firm,” he says. “The key is to facilitate good relationships there.”

Photo by Shining Darkness

Bookmark It

Smartphones and tablets are changing the way everyone does their job and this includes lawyers. There was only so much that you can fit in your briefcase but thanks to these devices you can now have your whole office at your fingertips, wherever you are. To make the most of these devices we have put together a list of the top 10 apps for lawyers. The list includes everything from legal dictionaries to expenses calculators that will suit both the working lawyer and the student alike.

iLegal: (iPad, iPhone: £39.99)
Need to get the latest information of legislation right now? This app claims to give you access to the revised text of almost all UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales legislation, as well as Acts of Parliament of Great Britain and English Parliament. You don’t even need signal as most of the information can be accessed offline.

Remote Desktop: (iPhone, iPad: Free)
We’ve all had the sinking feeling – the moment you realise that the file you desperately need is sitting on the desktop of your office computer and you’re miles away. With this app, you can connect to your Windows workstation computer and see all of your files and programs.

Dragon Dictation: (iPhone, iPad: Free)
Need a portable court reporter? This app allows you to speak and instantly see your text. It is reportedly five times faster than typing on a keyboard.

Court Search: (Android: £9.99)
This app gives you access to details of every Court in England and Wales. Get access to addresses, maps, contact details, as well as live Crown Court details and daily lists for the High Court.

Stanza: (iPhone, iPad: Free)
Need to brush up on your case law? Use this app to download from over 100,000 books and periodicals to read on your phone or tablet. Or if you already have a selection of electronic books, you can read them using Stanza as well. You can change elements like font size and line spacing to customise and best suit your needs.

CrimeLine Law: (iPad, iPhone: £2.49)
This app puts the Bailii database in your pocket, allowing quick and easy access to thousands of cases and statutes. It also allows you to bookmark cases or legislation for quick reference.

Black’s Law Dictionary: (iPhone, iPad, Android: $54.99)
Though largely consisting of American legal terms, Black’s Law Dictionary is still the world’s most cited law book. It contains more than 45,000 terms, alternative spellings and even an audio pronunciation for those hard-to-say terms.

OfficeTime: (iPhone, iPad, Android: $7.99)
Have trouble calculating your out of office time? This app can track your hours and expenses. You can even sync the app with OfficeTime for Mac or PC (sold separately) for simplicity.

Instapaper: (iPhone, iPad, Android: $4.99)
Save web pages for offline reading.

TrialPad 2.1.4: (iphone, ipad: $89.90)
This is a handy presentation tool developed specifically for the legal profession for use in trails and hearings. You can organise, manage, annotate, and store documents and video.

Photo by Judy Breck

Bookmark It

There aren’t many positive headlines in UK plc at the moment, but the country’s legal sector is contributing more than its share of good cheer. In fact, despite the parlous state of the economy, the number of practicing solicitors hit a record high at the end of 2011, according to figures released by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

To be precise, at the end of November 2011, there were 125,473 PC-holders; a rise of 462 on the previous month and of over 4,500 on the same date in 2010. The total number on the roll now stands at 163,108.

Perhaps even more pertinently for those seeking a career in law in 2012, Deloitte’s Business Survey noted in December 2011 that incomes for firms in the legal sector were rising sharply – a reasonably reliable indicator of a growing jobs market and an encouraging sign for anyone looking to grow and develop a career in law.

Against this cautiously optimistic backdrop, we asked Steve McNally of Equality Law (www.equalitylaw.co.uk) to give an overview of who is recruiting across the sector in 2012.

“All the usual suspects will be recruiting in 2012, from the ‘Magic Circle’ and solicitors with national networks, across to those firms who are regional specialists – and don’t forget the smaller single location firms. In fact, right now, there are over 1,000 firms publicly advertising their training contracts to graduates, as well as more than 200 Barrister sets offering pupilage. It doesn’t stop there, obviously – there still remains a large number of Workplacement Schemes and Paralegal positions available, so the legal fraternity must be one of the few sectors that can look forward to this year with a comparative confidence and optimism.”

“However, I think we must caveat this encouraging big picture by stressing that competition for places remains as high as ever, which is why people coming into the legal profession must remember that law has many different avenues, not all of which are right for everyone. So candidates must be careful to choose the path that’s right for them. This sector is populated by an immense variety of firms and barrister sets, each of which can differ quite widely, not just in terms of location and clientbase, but also working culture and, of course, legal specialism.”

Wider opportunities
Inevitably the main focus in 2012 will be on finding work in law firms and barristers’ chambers for school and undergraduate students. Big name firms such as Ashurst, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Eversheds, Herbert Smith, Latham & Watkins, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Simmons & Simmons, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Ashurt and Winston & Strawn LLP are all actively recruiting – and present a good starting place from which to ‘work down’ if you’re a prospective candidate.

More diverse candidates
Interestingly – and slightly outside the ‘mainstream’ search for jobs – there’s been a growing movement in the legal profession to create a more diverse workforce. For 2012, this has led to a large number of diversity projects and access schemes, designed to ensure that law is a possible career for every member of society. Three of the more notable programmes – and law firm participants – are detailed below.

Social Mobility Foundation (SMF)
This refreshingly innovative charity seeks to place high-achieving A-level students from low income backgrounds in placements with major private and public sector institutions. Geoffrey Vos QC, chairman of the group, says the SMF tries to “find ways of bridging the gap between clever students from poor backgrounds becoming interested in achieving a high-level career, and actually getting into that high-level career”. Sponsors include top law firms such as Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.

Black Lawyers’ Directory (BLD)
BLD was formed in 2006 to promote diversity within the legal profession and provide a forum for networking. It currently has two initiatives for young people within its Legal Gateway Scheme. Law and non-law undergraduates benefit from the Legal Launch Pad programme. The selected students attend various training sessions that include mock interviews and at least one week’s work experience at a sponsoring organisation. Sponsors of the Legal Gateway Programme include: A&O, Beachcroft, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, No5 Chambers, Olswang, Shoosmiths, Slaughter and May and White & Case. The selected students attend various training sessions that include mock interviews and at least one week’s work experience at a sponsoring organisation.

Opening Doors, Breaking down Barriers
In April 2011 a government-initiated, social mobility initiative entitled “Opening Doors, Breaking down Barriers” was announced. Allen & Overy was the first firm to sign up to it, promising to offer internships (or work placement places) to young people from deprived backgrounds.

Despite the economic outlook, there’s still great opportunity to carve a career in the legal profession – though as previously noted the competition for places is, as ever, fierce. Yes, law is changing and arguably faces more change than it has seen for centuries – but it continues to be one of the UK’s largest employers in terms of the professional services. Whether 2012 takes us to a natural optimum of numbers that can be employed in this particular decade remains to be seen.

Bookmark It

According to the Guardian, the last quarter of 2011 saw increased pessimism among the legal profession. The slowdown in the markets generally will continue into the first half of 2012 and transactional work will be patchy at best. What does this mean for the world of graduate recruitment? The long lead time of 18-24 months to recruit graduates means that trainee numbers will be broadly steady throughout the course of 2012.

Read the full article on the Guardian website.

Photo by Daniel Catt

Bookmark It

Social media is a frontier, a seemingly boundless territory that is occupied by several major tribes and numerous smaller groups or gangs. Policing social media, as with most frontiers, is not especially easy, but law and order must be preserved for all the obvious reasons. Social media is unlike any other frontier, however, because it exists in a virtual realm.

This is a place where laws already exist but do not necessarily apply to the new technological world. If the rule of law is to catch up with social media, its enforcers must be willing to explore unfamiliar territory.

Without doubt the biggest problem facing those who wish to enforce the law is jurisdiction. The internet is home to more than two billion users – the figure is likely to be much higher counting families, children and students etc, who share accounts. Geographically, internet users come from everywhere. Internet penetration – by percentage of population – is highest in the United States (78.3%), followed by Oceania (60.1%) and Europe (58.3%).

The number of internet users by continent or region, however, is highest in Asia, where some 922 million people, just 23.8% of the local population, have access to the internet. This figure represents 44% of the global share of internet users, ahead of Europe (22.7%), North America (13%), Central/South America and the Caribbean (10.3%), Africa (5.7%), the Middle East (3.3%) and Oceania (1%). Thus, the region with the second highest internet penetration rate has the smallest share of global internet users.
Legal systems vary worldwide.

The problem with the ‘worldwide’ nature of the web is that all of these regions are subject to different laws. This would not in itself be a major problem were it not for social media interaction on a global scale. People on the internet tend to mingle, so cultures, content and legal systems very often clash. The issue was highlighted in 2006 when La Ligue Contre Le Racisme et l’antisémitisme (LICRA) sued Yahoo! and Yahoo! France for allowing French users to access Nazi material. Ordered to remove the content by the French court, Yahoo! was afforded personal jurisdiction by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In effect, this meant that Yahoo! was not duty-bound to remove the content under US law; the French Court had no jurisdiction.

The LICRA case did not intend to permit social media users to flout the rule of law online; on the contrary, users remain subject to the laws of the land but perhaps only their land. The internet is global but most laws are local. The issue of jurisdiction in social media lawsuits has yet to be fully explored, however and it is entirely possible that cases will arise in coming years that shape the argument in one direction or another, perhaps risking the globalisation of social media. In the meantime, individuals and companies will continue to struggle to uphold certain laws against users who are subject to completely different legal systems.

Another legal implication of the social media revolution is defamation, particularly libel, but also slander on certain multimedia-based social networking sites. Defamation cases involving websites are nothing new, but lawsuits involving social media are on the rise. According to industry experts, online libel cases in the UK doubled between 2010 and 2011, when a total of 86 cases progressed to court. The situation is likely to worsen as social media usage increases over the coming years.

The main problem with libel and social media, from a company’s perspective at least, is that enforcement can do more harm than good. Social media communities expect a certain freedom online, whether justified or not. Bringing claims against libellous social media users can be the virtual equivalent of shooting oneself in the foot. There is often no good reason to pursue libel action against social media users. The most appropriate and effective course of action is usually to retort in some form or another (the more creative the better). At the very least, a company ought to consider refuting comments via a press release before considering legal action but ignoring defamation or denouncing it in good humour is almost always the best policy.

The situation is somewhat different for defamed individuals. In one particularly remarkable case, Orlando Figes, an esteemed professor in Russian history, was exposed for committing a quite unremarkable offence. He had dabbled in a spot of ‘astroturfing’.

Astroturfing in this context refers to posting fake comments or reviews about a person, product or place etc, usually with the intention of increasing or destroying its reputation. Figes had defamed historical works published by his rivals by posting spurious reviews on Amazon. Although the professor did so anonymously, Rachel Polonsky, one of the defamed individuals targeted by Figes, tracked down the miscreant historian and demanded justice.

After threatening Polonsky with legal action – libel, ironically – Figes came clean, admitting that he had criticised rivals’ work in order to promote his own. Astroturfing, however, was not vanquished by Figes’ confession. Libel remains a serious threat to all individuals and businesses online and social media is the perfect breeding ground for internet users who defame others for whatever reason.

Jurisdiction and defamation are just two of the legal issues threatening the development of social media. Copyright infringement is another serious concern, as it has been online for more than a decade. As with libel and slander, copyright is at the mercy of jurisdiction. If two conflicting legal systems go head to head, the tangible will almost certainly triumph over the virtual. Regional jurisdiction presides for the time being. However, many sites such as Facebook and Twitter employ strict terms and agreements that aim to impose rules pertaining to copyright and defamation, so remedial or punitive measures are often available at the source.

In summary, the social media revolution is still in its infancy. As with all infants, mistakes are made on a frequent basis. The task of individuals and companies is to learn from those mistakes, anticipate others and prepare for the odd tantrum. Social media is growing up, but can the rule of law catch up?

Photo by HonestReporting.com

Bookmark It

Take a look at some of the best Legal Week Career Clinic dilemmas from 2011. It was a year that saw heated debate over office bullying, working in an all-female team, turning down a magic circle job and secret pregnancies.

For more information visit the Legal Week website.

Photo by Susan Barrett Price

Bookmark It

The government is consulting on a proposal to introduce fees for people wishing to bring an employment tribunal claim. The consultation sets out two possibilities: an initial fee to begin a claim followed by an additional fee if the claim goes to hearing, or the payment of a single fee and limiting the maximum award to £30,000. The consultation closes on 6 March 2012.

Read the consultation document on the Ministry of Justice website.

Photo by Jofo2005

Bookmark It

With over half the UK population having a Facebook account, employers are losing £14 billion per year as a direct result of employees accessing social media sites during work hours, according to Business Weekly. Two million workers spend an hour of each working day social networking, with companies’ productivity suffering as a result. Yet bosses’ hands are tied when it comes to disciplinary action – resulting in a minefield for employers.

Read the full article on the Business Weekly website.

Photo by MarkoPako

Bookmark It